Dispensing device



Jan. 5 1926.

N. F. DAHNE ET AL DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Feb. 2s, 1924 M ww? f WAI/f7 To all 'whoin it may concern.'

ritenne im. 5, 192e.

UNITI-:D AsTivriezs PATENT' v oi-Fici=;.

Neiman i. Damm AND ANDREW I.. minutos, or La 150mm, INnrANli.

prepararme -nEvIcn appiication'nied February 2s, 1924. Asemi no. 695,651.

Be itfknown that we, NORMAN F. DAHNii l and ANDREW L. THANos, citizens ofthe United States, residing at La Porte, iii4 the county of La Porte and 'State 'of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful I mprovements in Dispensing Devices, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to a' device espe'- cially adapted for use inv public places by means of which granular or powdered mate ria-l may-befdispensed injrestricted quantities withou-t waste and in a sanitary manner. .The invention has for its ob'ect the provision ofa dispensing device W ich shall be of neat appearance, economical to-manufacture and' convenient and sanitary in use. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention is exemplified iii the'coniibination and arrangement of parts shown' in the accompanying drawings anddescribed in the following specification and it is more` particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

4In the drawings; Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a dispensing apparatus showing. one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the deviceshown in Fig. 1.

Fi 3 is a horizontal section substantially on a 'ne 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a detail of construction.

It is well known that in' public eating places such as hotels and'restaurants the use of the ordinary sugar bowl for dispensing sugar is both inconvenient and unattractive to the atrons and is likely to be unsanitary as well.) In the present invention means is provided for dispensing vsu ar in. quantities corresponding approximate y to the amount people are accustomed to measuring sugarcontained in the ordinaryy teaspoon. Of course, the `amount ydispensed at one time maybe regulated to suit conditions but since in teaspoonfuls this is found to be a convenient quantity for each discharge of the apparatus. y

In the form Vof invention shown in the drawing the numeral 10 designates an upright standardsupported by a base 11 which is of .suicient extent and 4.weight to prevent over-turningof the.` device. The standard 10 is'preferably Iounted to rotate in the base 11 so that the dispenser ,may be swung into various positions to accommodate patrons at 'different positions about a table or other support. A container 12v is secured to the standard 10 by means of lateral arms -13. A central tubular member 14 extends verticall throughthe container 12. and is provide with openings 15 to admit material from thecontainer 12 into the bottom portion of the interior of the tube 14. A plunger 16 is slidably mounted within the tube 14 and 1s provided with a peripherial groove 17 which registers with the openings 15. Below the groove 17 i is va flange 18 which closes the lower end of the tube 14 and is provided withan inclined upper face 19. A sleeve 20v of the vtube 14. Thetube 14 and the sleeve y20 are slotted at one side as shown at 25 and a small -rod or bar -26 projects laterally from the plunger rod 24 through the slot 25. The bar 26 asses through an opening -in the rod 24 as s own more clearly in Fig.

3, and the u per end ofthe spring 23 bears against the the upper end of the slot 25 and thus retain r 26 to press the bar against the plunger rod 24 andthe plunger 16 "in ltheir u permost position.

The ar 26 is bent downwardly parallel with 'the outer surface of the tube 14 and is provided with a brace member 27. The

horizontal portion of the bar 26fand the l brace member 27 are soldered or otherwise secured to a cover plate 28 which overlies the slot 25 and excludes the sugar from entering' the slot 25. The bar 26 is extended downwardlyl and bent to form a stirrin -rod 29 surrounding the lower portion o the tube 14. Whenever the plunger rod 24 is moved u and down the stirring rod 29 will agitate tiesugar within the receptacle and prevent it from becoming packed and hardened. The upper portion of the receptacle 12 is closed by a lid 30 which may be held in place of a cap 31 which fits over the upper end of the tube 14 and is held in p ace by clearly in F' 4. l

A removab e knob 33 is threaded through the upper end of the plunger rod 24 and a leather or other Suitable washer 34 surrounds the rod 24 below the knob 33 to provide a yielding stop when the plunger is forced downwardly.

lVhenever it is desired' to obtain a quantity of sugar the knob 33 is moved downwardly into the broken line osition shown in Fig. 2, this will carry the ange 19'downwardly to a position below the lower end of the tube 14 and permit the sugar contained in the groove 17 to be discharged. The upper portion of the plunger 16 closes t e openings 15 during the discharge operation so as to limit the amount discharged. If more sugar is required a second operation will discharge a duplicatealnount.

It is noted that the base member 11 is provided with depressions 35 to collect any sugar that may be accidentally spilled.

The standard 10 is also provided with a shelf 36 for supporting salt and pepper shakers 37 and a toothpick holder 38.

We claim 1. A dispenser for granular material comprising a receptacle, a reciprocating plunger having a recess therein, said plunger being movable in said receptacle to bring said recess alternately into and outside of said receptacle, a rod for operating said plunger, an agitator secured to said rod to move in unison therewith, a spring for moving said plunger in one direction, and a housing for said rod and spring to exclude the material in said receptacle from contact with said rod and spring, said agitator being positioned outside of said housing.

2. A dispenser for granular material comprising a receptacle, a tubular member within said receptacle, a plunger anranged within said tubular member to reciprocate therein, said plunger having a peripherial groove therein arranged to move into and out of registration with openings in said tubular member, an agitator to engage said granular material and to move in unison with said plunger, and a spring within said tubular member for moving said plunger in one direction, said agitator being arranged outside of said tubular member.

A dispenser for granular material comprising a receptacle, a tubular member within said receptacle having a lateral opening at its lower end and within said receptacle, a plunger within said tubular member and having a periplierial groove arranged to register with the opening in said tubular member -but movable to a position outside of said receptacle, a plunger rod connected with said plunger and extending outside of said receptacle, a spring surrounding said plunger rod within said tubular member, an arm connected with said plunger rod and extending outwardly through a slot in said tubular member, -a stirring device carried on said arm, and a shield connected with said arm and covering the slot in said tubular member. y

4. A dispenser for sugar comprising a receptacle having a tubular member extending vertically therethrough and having openings through the walls thereof within said receptacle, a plunger mounted to slide in said tubular member, a sleeve secured within said tubular vmember adjacent its upper end, a plunger rod extending upwardlyrom said plunger, pins extending vthrough said sleeve and tubular member and projecting into the interior of said sleeve, a spring supported by said pins and surrounding said plunger rod, an arm secured to said plun er rod and engaging the upper end of sai spring, said arm projecting laterally through a slot in said tubular member and sleeve, and a shield carried by said arm and movable with said plunger and arranged to cover said slot.

5. A dispenser for sugar or the like comprising a receptacle having a tubular member extending therethrough and open at its lower end, said tubular member having lateral openings therein, within said receptacle, a plunger slidably mounted in said tubular member and having a recess for receiving the material through said o enings and discharging said material rom the lower end of said tubular member, a plunger rod connected with said plunger and positioned within said tubular member, a spring within said tubular member for moving said plunger rod pne direction, and a stirring device connected with said plunger rod and movable therewith to prevent clogging of the material within said receptacle. 1

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification on this 21st ,day of" February A. D. 1924.

. NORMAN F. DAHNE.

ANDREW L. THANOS.. 

